Fountain-pen and pencil holder.



PATENTED SEPT. 12, 1905.

W. F. DURYEA. FOUNTAIN PEN AND PENCIL HOLDER.

APPLICATION FILED MAR.18.1904.

NITED STATES egrnnir OFFICE.

FOUNTAIN-PEN AND PENCIL HOLDER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 12, 1905.

Application filed Karel. 16,1904. Serial No. 198,497.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WVILLIAM F. DURYEA, residing at Brooklyn, Kings county, State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Fountain-Pen and Pencil Holders, of which the following is such a full, clear, and exact description as will enable any one skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being made to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification.

My invention relates to a device for detachably securing to the edge of the garment or to the edge of a pocket thereof or other desired object a fountain-pen, a pencil, or like article to retain the same in a position of security when not in use.

The chief objects of my invention are to provide a simple and efficient form of such a device, in which metal alone can be used for the entire device, if so preferred, and in which the number of parts is comparatively small and the cost of the manufacture accordingly reduced.

\Vith these and other objects in view my invention consists in the various combinations of the several parts of the device, all as hereinafter fully described and then pointed out in the claims.

1 have illustrated types of my invention in the accompanying drawings, wherein- Figure 1 shows in perspective an ordinary fountain-pen resting in the pocket of the garment and having one of my holders or attaching devices mounted on the fountain-pen and detachably secured to the edge of the garment. Fig. 2 is an enlarged side view of the device secured upon the fountain-pen and shown with its clamping-arm closed. Fig. 3 is a similar view to Fig. 2, but with the clamping-arm open. Fig. 4: is a plan view of a blank of the clamping-lever in the flat as to the main part thereof. Fig. 5 is a view in cross-section taken on the plane indicated by the line 5 5, Fig. 2. Fig. 6 shows the reinforce-wire detached. Fig. 7 shows aside view of a modified form of the device with the clamping-lever in normal position. Fig. 8 is similar view to that shown in Fig. 7, but with the clamping-arm of the lever sprung into open position.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, in which like numbers of reference designate like parts throughout, 1 indicates an ordinary fountain-pen provided with the usual cap for closing and protecting the writing-pen used therein.

The releasable attaching device comprises a combined operating and clamping lever 2, which is bent transversely at 3 at a point not quite at the center of length and at such an angle that the rear end thereof forms an opcrating finger-piece a. The other arm 5 of this lever, which constitutes the clamping part, is bent downwardly to form a clamping-jaw 6 thereon and is adapted to engage the side of the fountain-pen or pencil 7 upon which the article is mounted and when the device is unattached to the garment or other article. This lever at the fulcrum 3 thereof is formed concave on its under side, so as to conform to the cylindrical shape of the body, against which it rests, and the edge of the clamping-jaw 6 is also curved to conform to such cylindrical body, this being done for the purpose of giving the lever a better bearing on the cylindrical body and to cause it to be maintained more securely in its operative position. This lever is made of suitable rigid material, and it is adjustably mounted upon the fountain-penholder or pencil 7 by means of a spiral or coiled spring 8, the respective ends of which are secured to suitable lateral projections 9, extending from opposite sides of the clamping-arm 5 of the lever, and it will be noted that these projections extend some little distance beyond the sides of the lever, this being designed for the purpose of obtaining a better spring action for the clampingjaw than would be the case if the ends of the spring 8 were secured at a point nearer the longitudinal central line of the lever. The attaching members 9 also serve to hold the spring at the sides free from the barrel or body 7 of the fountain-penholder or pencil, and thereby reduce the amount of surface thereof against which the spring in its action rubs, and this tends to prevent the same from being mutilated or marked by the action of the spring, as will be understood more particularly from Fig. 5. The attaching members 9 are in the present construction shown as being formed integral with the lever, and they are preferably of a tubular shape at their outer ends, this same tubular structure being in part carried transversely across the lever, as at 10, which assumes the form of a rounded or convex rib, and when bent into the shape shown these parts, together with the spring 8, form a complete ring, as will be more particularly understood from Fig. 1, and this gives a very characteristic appearance to the device.

' As shown in the plan view in Fig. 4, the combined operating and clamping lever is formed from a single piece of material cut and bent to shape, the tubular attaching members 9 at the sides of the lever being formed from small wings 11. (Shown in dotted lines as cut from the same stock as the lever and then bent around into tubular shape, as indicated more particularly in Fig. 5.)

The ends of the coiled spring 8 may be attached in any suitable way to the sides of the clamping-arm of the lever; but I have shown the simple method of inserting the ends in the tubular members 9 and pinching the same somewhat together, so as to securely retain the ends of the spring therein. When the rounded hollow rib 10, with the tubular attaching members 9 thereof, is formed into final shape, it is shaped symmetrically, so as to form portion of a circle together with the spring 8, and by straightening these lateral projections 9 outwardly, more or less, from the arc in which they are shownfor example, in Fig. 5the spring 8 is kept away from the body of the article 7 to prevent marking the same, as above pointed out.

The coiled or spiral spring 8 has the twofold function of retaining the device upon the fountain-penholder or pencil in adjustable position thereon and at the same time giving to the clamping-arm 5 the necessary spring-ten sion. The use of the coiled spring 8 for this double purpose is found to be very desirable, it providing a durable and efficient means for accomplishing the desired results. It will also be noted that in addition to the attaching part 10 for the spring being bowed upwardly above the plane of the lever itself that the clamping-arm 5 of the lever is given a downward bend substantially at the point 10, and this construction serves two purposes. In the 6 rst place the incorporation in the lever 5 of the upwardly-curving rib 10, which is virtually part of the attaching members 9, elevates the attaching-points so that the same clear the side of the fountain-penholder or pencil 7 when the clamp is mounted thereon, and only the two points, that of the fulcrum 3 and the clamping-jaw 6, then engage the same, and this prevents the penholder or pencil from being scratched or mutilated in placing the device upon it or removing it therefrom. This effect is clearly shown in Fig. 5, wherein the attaching-points of the spring 8 are clear of the body 7. In the second place the upward bend in the clamping-arm 5 of the lever at about the point 10 serves to lower the free end of the finger-piece 4, for if the outer end of the clamping-arm 5 continued on in the same line with the part adjoining the fulcrum 3 the clamping-jaw 6 would have a greater range of movement, and consequently the outer end of the finger-piece 4 would be at a greater elevation when the same is closed as, for instance, in Fig. 2. The advantage of having the free end of the finger-piece 4 thus lowered is important.

In using the device, which is shown in normal position in Fig. 2, wherein the spring 8 encircles the body 7 and holds the lever against the same both at the fulcrum point 3 and the clamping-jaw 6, the fin ger-piece 4 is depressed against the body 7, as shown in Fig. 3, thereby raising the clamping-jaw a considerable distance from the body 7and putting the spring 8 under tension, as indicated in said Fig. 3. With the clamping-jaw thus opened the fountain-penholder or pencil is then placed so that the edge 12 of the pocket of a garment 13 (see Fig. 1) may be inserted between the clamping-jaw and the body 7, whereupon the fingerpiece 4 is released, and the spring 8 draws down the clamping-arm 5 against the material 12, as indicated in Fig. 1, and securely retains the holder or pencil in place. In removing the fountain-penholder or pencil the finger-piece 4 is depressed again, as shown in Fig. 3, so as to release the clamping-arm from the material 12 to free the same.

In practice 1 have found that the spiral-or coiled spring 8 when not mounted upon the fountain-penholder or pencil is liable to be injured by being crushed or otherwise damaged, and I have therefore provided this spring with a reinforcing part or wire 14, which is shown as a split ring, substantially rigid and inserted through the coiled spring 8, with the two abutting ends 15 approaching each other beneath the center line of the lever, as inclicated in Fig. 5. This reinforce-ring 14 is preferably made of wire and is loosely inserted in its place, so as not to in any way interfere with the stretching or compression of the spring 8. This reinforce-ring gives sufficient resisting power to the spring when the same is dismounted to prevent its being distorted or bent and is itself somewhat resilient.

The combined operating and clamping lever may be made in any desired shape, and I show the finger-piece 4 as being provided with a beaded edge 16, which affords a better gripping-surface for the finger in engaging and operating the lever, and this also givesa better ornamental effect to the device.

In Figs. 7 and 8 I show a modified form of the device, in which the clamping-lever 2 is composed of a piece of spring metal bent at 3 so as to afford a fulcrum -point at that point and toprovide a clamping-arm 5 and an operating finger part 4, which latteris upwardly bowed and has its free end normally resting upon the side of the fountain-pen holder or pencil 7. 'Across the back of the metal piece is formed a bowed rib 10, having the attaching members 9, the same as above described, for securing the ends of the attaching and operating spring 8 and with the re inforcing wire or ring 14 arranged therein. The finger part l of this lever being of resilient metal, upon depressing the same by the pressure of the linger, so as to flatten it out against the body 7, as shown in Fig. 8, the clamping-arm 5 thereof is thereby raised, so as to open the same for the insertion of the material to whichthe device is to be attached.

While 1 have illustrated the detachable safety device as being applied only to a fountainpen, it will of course be understood that it may be used with an ordinary pencil or the case of a physicians pocket-thermometer and, in fact, any article for which it is adapted, and its use in such connection will be readily understood from the description and illustration herewith given.

The combined operating and clamping lever 2 may be made in any desired shape and of any suitable material, which in the construction shown in Figs. 1 to 6, inclusive, must have suliicient rigidity to preserve its form, while in the other construction, shown in Figs. '7 and 8, the same must be of a resilient character to perform its function. In practice 1 have made all of the parts of the device of suitable metals, and the lever 2 has been made somewhat ornamental, as herein shown. The employment of metal for the part 8, which both retains the device upon the article in adjustable position and at the same time gives to the clamping part its required spring action, proves to be most desirable in prolonging the life of the article, for if rubber were used for such purpose its well-known defects would be a serious drawback. Moreover, the employment of indiarubber in connection with such an article tarnishes by its sulfur any metallic parts with which it may come in contact.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is ere 1. A device for detachably securing to wearing-apparel, a fountain-pen, a pencil, or like article, the same consisting-in the combination of a clasp, a spiral or coiled spring attached to said clasp and adapted to pass around said article to hold the clasp in position thereon, and a reinforce rod or wire extending loosely through the interiorof said coiled spring and being substantially unattached or free to permit practically unrestricted expansion and contraction of said spring, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

2. A device for detachably securing to wearing-apparel, a fountain-pen, a pencil, or like article, the same consisting in the combination of a clasp for engaging the apparel and having the clamping-arm thereof provided with laterally-projecting spring attaching members, and a spiral or coiled spring attached by its ends to said respective members and adapted to pass around said article, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

3. A device for detachabl y securing to wearing-apparel, a fountain-pen, a pencil, or like article, the same comprising the combination of a lever having a fulcrum bearing upon the article and one arm of said lever constituting a linger-piece for operating the lever and the other arm thereof constituting a clamping part adapted to clamp between itself and the article secured the object upon which it is secured, the said clamping part being provided with laterally-disposed spring attaching members, and a coiled or spiral spring having its respective ends attached to said attaching members and adapted to pass around the said article and to impart to the said clamping part a spring tension, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

4. A device for detachably securing to wearing-apparel, a fountain-pen, a pencil, or like article, the same comprising the combination of a lever having a fulcrum bearing upon the article and one arm of said lever constituting a linger-piece for operating the lever and the other arm thereof constituting a clamping part adapted to clamp between itself and the article secured the object upon which it is secured, the clamping part of said lever having an outward bend therein between the fulcrum and the clamping end thereof, and a coiled or spiral spring attached to and acting upon said clamping part and imparting thereto a clamping tension and also engaging the said article and acting to retain thereon the said clamping part, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

5. A device for detachably securing to wearing-apparel, a fountain-pen, a pencil, or like article, the same comprising the combination of a lever having a fulcrum bearing upon the article and one arm of said lever constituting a finger-piece for operating the lever and the other arm thereof constituting a clamping part adapted to clamp between itself and the article secured the object upon which it is secured, the arm of said lever constituting the clamping part being provided with laterallyextending members 9, and a coiled or spiral spring having its respective ends secured to said members 9 and said spring adapted to pass around said article, to secure the lever thereto and serving to impart to said lever a clamping tension, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

6. A device for detachably securing to wearing-apparel, a fountain-pen, a pencil, or like article, the same comprising the combination of a combined operating and clamping lever 2, bent transversely at 3 and consisting in an operating linger-piece & and a clamping-arm 5, the said clamping-arm 5 being provided with laterally-extending attaching members 9 and a coiled metallic spring 8 having its respective ends attached to the said members 9 of said clamping-arm 5and adapted to pass 2 around the body of the article to both retain IIO loosely through the interior of said coiled spring and being substantially unattached or free to permit practically unrestricted expansion and contraction of said spring, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in the presence of the tWo subscribing Witnesses. Y

WILLIAM F. DURYEA. Witnesses: y

L. V. SPARKS, WILLIS FoWLER. 

